1. Field of Invention
The exemplary embodiment(s) of the present invention relates to a system and method for emotional wellness management. More specifically, the exemplary embodiment(s) of the present invention relates to a system and method for emotional wellness as a process function that supports iterative process improvement.
2. Background
The global economic cost of mental health exceeds $2.5 trillion annually and is rapidly growing, reaching $6 trillion by 2030, more than the costs of cancer, diabetes, and respiratory diseases put together, according to the World Economic Forum and Harvard School of Public Health. Current medical care systems predominantly focus on physical health by treating diseases and injuries, leaving mental health up to individuals. Mental health affects everyone yet it is invisible. Its social and perceived stigma, coupled with insufficient care is giving mental health an undesirable nickname, “an orphan of healthcare.”
Currently, four types of solutions exist: psychotherapy, support and peer groups, spiritual and faith-based healing and self-help. Psychotherapies including pharmacotherapies are designed for people with pathological conditions. The access is limited due to a shortage of qualified therapists and gaps in insurance coverage. Support and peer groups, as well as spiritual and faith-based healing are organized arbitrarily and are non-systematic. There is an increasing number of technology-based solutions in the form of self-help software; however, their efficacy is unproven.
Current technology-based solutions for physiological problems, such as illnesses and injuries follow the traditional medical practice of diagnosing symptoms and applying treatments based on diagnosis. Technology-based solutions for psychological problems such as stress, anxiety and depression follow the same approach as the traditional practice of symptom diagnosis and treatments. Unfortunately, mental health is different from physical health problems. The effects and symptoms are inconsistent and vary significantly with individuals, and often asymptomatic, meaning that symptoms do not always manifest themselves. This is why diagnosing and treating mental health is difficult. The traditional practice of treatments-on-symptoms approach does not always provide consistent and sustainable solutions for mental health problems. The current technology-based solutions need improvement.
Mental health is not a matter of applying treatments to symptoms. It is a process, a life-long process of becoming aware of and making choices for mental and social well-being. Emotion is a core driver of human behavior and is at the center of mental and social well-being. Emotional wellness is a critical component of predictive and preventive care for mental health, just as important as diet and exercise for physical health.
Because emotional wellness is a process, in order to achieve systematic improvement in a process, a specially designed system is needed to execute and improve the process iteratively. No practical system or method has been invented for emotional wellness as a process function that supports iterative process improvement. Further, there exists no structured representation of causal factors for emotional wellness. Therefore, there is a need for an emotional wellness management system to help users manage and improve their daily process of emotional wellness by providing a feedback loop with adaptive actions for continual monitoring and improvement in emotional wellness. There is also a need for structured representation of casual factors for emotional wellness.